Mixing a political pitch with his personal story, gubernatorial hopeful Shri Thanedar introduced himself Monday to a few dozen members of the Northville Democratic Club.

A chemist and entrepreneur who founded several chemical-testing companies, Thanedar is running next year to succeed Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who is term-limited. He is among a host of candidates, including former state Senate minority leader Gretchen Whitmer, retired Xerox executive William Cobbs and former Detroit Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed, vying for the Democratic nomination.

Thanedar, 62, immigrated from India in 1979 and became a citizen in 1988. He did post-doctoral work in chemistry at the University of Michigan, has lived in Missouri and Florida and returned to Ann Arbor in 2010.

"If you haven't noticed, I look a little different. I also speak a little different," Thanedar, who retains an accent, told Democrats during their meeting at the Cady Inn at Mill Race Historical Village. "In me, you will get a very different governor."

He said that as a scientist, he would look at data and "use logic and reason" to make decisions for the state and, that as a chemist, he recognizes the issues behind lead-contaminated water in Flint and the concerns about the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline, which passes under the Straits of Mackinac.

"What we thought was a moderate governor," Thanedar said of Snyder, "has really caved in to the right-wing lawmakers."

Speaking for about 20 minutes, Thanedar argued for investing in the state — particularly in education, health care and infrastructure — and ending "this love for big corporations" in the form of tax breaks that have, he claimed, not led to net job gains.

"We have not invested in education. We have not invested in infrastructure. We have been kicking the infrastructure can down the road so long, we have run out of roadway," he said. "We have let this state go bad because we have not invested."

Thanedar said he favors single-payer health insurance for the state. "A lot of countries less fortunate have done that," he said.

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President Lisa DiRado addresses the Northville Democratic Club met on Monday. On the agenda was Shri Thanedar, who is running for governor.(Photo11: Bill Bresler | hometownlife.com)

After his formal talk, Thandedar said he'd pay for his investment proposals by raising taxes on the wealthy — those with household incomes of $200,000 or perhaps $250,000 or more a year — and "more importantly" on corporations. The state, he noted, is already on the hook for about $2 billion in corporate tax credits, some even dating back to the Jennifer Granholm administration.

"Giving tax breaks to the rich has not made the life of the working poor, the life of the middle class, any better," he said. "This Republican notion of trickle-down economics never worked, never will and it's time we focused on people."

Thanedar has faced his share of adversity. His first wife died in 1996, leaving him with two young sons; he remarried two years later. His businesses were affected by the Great Recession and, despite his protestations that he could turn things around and save jobs, his lender, a major bank, seized them, plus his home, in 2010.

"I did not declare bankruptcy like somebody we know in Washington, D.C.," he said, referring to President Donald Trump, who has had multiple business bankruptcies. His seized assets, Thanedar said, made the lender whole.

"I had lost everything I had worked hard to achieve," he said.

Thanedar, with some savings, moved with wife Shashi to start fresh in Ann Arbor later in 2010 and last year sold a majority share of the his new company, Avomeen Analytical Services, and later retired as chief executive officer. His sons, Neil and Samir, are both graduates of U-M's Ross School of Business.

Democratic Club president Lisa DiRado said local Democrats have been energized this year as a response to Trump's election and are eager to help Democratic candidates. El-Sayed and Cobbs have already spoken to the group, she said, and Whitmer is to appear at the November meeting.